Oh the Horror!

I think I mentioned earlier in the month that the wonderfully tal

ented Beth Robinson, asked me if I would be in a Halloween themed group show. I met her at the new gallery space at the soda plant, the S.P.A.C.E. I handed off my "spooky" new pieces to her today. Take a look at the creepy doll shrine and haunted mixed media collages that I will be showing.

Beth was impressed with

the size of my new pieces and I have to say they are

probably the largest

assemblages and collage works I have done. I am really happy with how all four of the pieces turned out.

Albeit, they are dark and haunted. The subject matter, stronger and and a little creepier than I usually approach.

But, it was great to stretch myself, both in the size of the work, the content and the process. I used some new techniques that I had been playing with and although I was up late, burning the midnight oil for many nights, this project was altogether, very satisfying.

I AM going to be early tonight, but there is no rest for the weary. With two craft shows looming in my near future, and a guest artist project due this weekend, I am pushing full steam ahead.

If you are in the area, do check out the show at

OH THE HORROR at the Soda Plant. It runs till 10/31 with a closing party on Halloween. And, you are welcome to pop in at the opening reception, this Friday from 5-8, part of the Burlington 1st Friday Art Walk.

Opening Reception Friday, October 2 from

5:00-9:00pm for the First Friday Art Walk
Closing party on Halloween
S.P.A.C.E.
266 Pine Street, Suite 105
Burlington, Vermont“Breath-taking” works by a group of ’strange,’ yet extraordinarily talented, artists and craftsmen: Beth Robinson, Marc Awodey, Janet Van Fleet, Kevin Montanaro, Lorraine Reynolds, Jme Wheeler, Jonathan Ward, Andrea Currie. Works range in mediums from paintings to strange dolls, to mad scientist installations and vintage horror movie posters.

hope to see you there!

Cheers!

fabric-o-rama

my etsy pals are having a little challenge on the melange blog. glenda bailey, who is a fabric addict, has challenged all the melange members to use fabric in our art. as a costume designer, fabric is always a part of my life. this love for fabric made it's way into my art. from the first altered book i made to the dolly shrines that i have been working on this week, chances are if you are looking at one of my pieces, there's apt to be some fabric on it some where.

using fabric for me has always been about texture. besides the fact that i don't seem to have the patience (or the skill) to make anything come out "flat", i love to have texture in my work. when i started this art journey and making altered books, i quickly found that fabric had so many uses. first, i adds texture and interest to the surface, secondly, i used it to cover the myriad of mistakes i made, and lastly, it help the pages from sticking together. now, there are fewer mistakes to cover, but i still use fabric. besides, it's a resource that i have tons and tons of. there was a time when i was selling bags of fabric scraps on etsy because i had so much of it.

the scrap bin is getting smaller. mostly because i have a special project, that i have been working on for craft shows. all i am going to say right now, is that it makes excellent use of scraps, in a truly artist way.

the piece that really shows how versatile fabric can be as a medium is in my altered book, "angels have wings." the cover is a corset and fabric is found on almost every page, from the flames that engulf the workers of the triangle shirt waist factory from hand embroidered flaming heart of Mary that boldly sings out on the final page.

i love using fabric so much, it's pretty much always been a part of my art. i do recommend that you take the plunge and try it yourself if you haven't already. you might like the results!

Busy week

i've been busy working on art projects every night this week- it feels great to be so productive and moving things towards completion.

the doll shrines are coming together- the boxes are almost complete and i was busy tonight making some clothing for the dolls. tomorrow- i will finish with the sewing and assemble. tonight they are drying.

i also put another layer on to the collage on canvas that i've been working on: what remains. there are three canvases in this group that i am "salvaging" from a project that lost direction and steam. four month later, with many thanks to friends and fellow artists who helped me cut through the mental block, i am working on them again, with vigor. they still have a bit to go- but i am hoping to finish them Thursday night, i have a Friday deadline.

i have patti edmon to thank for her kind, but to the point crit of the old pieces. she helped me find focus. so thanks pat!

i promised myself i would try to get to sleep early tonight, so at 11:55, i bid you adieu. until we met again.

what remains- WIP

it's beautiful here, today in the green mountain state. i am shuffling between chores in the house, art making and things that need to happen outside in the yard before it gets too cold. i've been very inspired and very motivated to make art this past week. so as the dishwasher is spinning, and the laundry is drying on the line, i've been painting away, outside on the deck.

i finally got the guts to paint on top of these two canvases. they were giving me such issues, the collages seemed off balance, lacking focus and just "not me." so i took a leap this morning and started in on it again. both canvases need more layers of color- but it's a start.

the best thing is- it's cleared my head as to where it's going- so now i can move forward without fear.

love when that happens.

finally, art hop pictures!

Sorry for the delay, I know I promised. Here they are, almost a week late- photos of our Burton Employee art hop- with many thanks Tomas Ruprecht, for the great pix. The show this year was a great success, and many thanks goes out to all the artists and sponsors who helped make it happen! We had a great party with food from local eateries, ice cream courtesy of Ben and Jerry's, a live dance performance by the girls of Cheeks Dance company ( all I can say about them is WOWSERS!) music by Joshua Panda, and of course Magic Hat on tap.

So many people came out to support art in the South End of Burlington. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and colleagues! Thanks everyone for your hard work and dedication to this project!

i am a space cadet

yes, i am a space cadet. for some BIZARRE reason, i thought the deadline for the Sailor's Valentine challenge for CPS, was on the 15th. i was so excited, i had mapped out my hectic life, first i would get the art hop up on Friday, then spend all day Saturday and Sunday making my submission and send in my photos just in time. but as my luck would have it, i had the submission date wrong (yes, i am a space cadet.) it was on the 8th.

the finished pieces is still drying and i am peeling glue from my fingers as i type. and i am really happy with what i created. too bad for CPS, because, i really created a unique, haunting piece. oh, well, so much for best made plans.

i felt so inspired this weekend. it was great to work with my colleagues to put up a great show at Burton and then spend all day saturday checking out all sorts of amazing work up and down pine street.

i met an incredibly talented woman, Beth Robinson, who makes eerie steam punk inspired dolls. they are so haunting and strange.i really enjoyed seeing them in person. and got to see my neighbor and friend jackie mangione in her new studio at the soda plant. by the end of the day i was exhausted by so jonesing to get my materials out and make something.

so, i've been painting background pages and prepping a set of trays for another group of assemblages. i hope i can keep my muse in my heart this week. it's been a while since i have had this sort of spark. and it feel pretty dang good!

Labor of Love sale on ETSY

In Celebration of LABOR DAY my entire ETSY shop is ON SALE-

Save 15% and receive free shipping on any orders over $50.

And as always I can create a custom piece for you, be it a mixed media collage, altered book or sweet little tin box shrine.

Sale runs till the end of the day Monday 9/7.
Have a great weekend!!!

Creative Souls

Creative souls is a social network on Ning that I belong to. The amazing Izabella Pierce started this wonderful site for creative people to connect and share their art and ideas. There's a lot of "outsider" art and steam punk inspired artists on Creative souls. The part that I love the most is that it's not limited to mixed media, but open to all creative types to quote the site (it's) a diverse gathering of creative souls, a place to help promote each other. Discover new & interesting people."

I am so excited to share that I have been selected to be the featured artist on the site. Previous features have been about some of my favorite artist- so I am a little awe-struck that she would consider me for the spot. So, many thanks to you Isabella and the members of Creative Souls- I am humbled by this opportunity to share my work with you. Thanks!